The sirens sounded in Tel-Aviv. We were told that we had approximately 90 seconds to seek shelter. Our apartment house has no shelter so we went into the hall. Inevitably we heard booms and moved to the TV to see where they landed. As it was not a single missile landed on Tel-Aviv. Some fell into the Mediterranean but more impressive we learned that they had been shor down by the Iron Dome missile interception system. Expensive at $50,000 we felt it was a bargain.
IronDome's value is in that it has been found to be 88 per cent accurate.
A number of countries, including Turkey, have shown interest in acquiring Iron Dome.
Israel has two missile defense systems, the Arrow for use against incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles at high altitude and the Iron Dome against rockets fired from as close as 2.5 miles out to about 43.5 miles. The Arrow was developed in cooperation with the United States; U.S. funds were used in development of the Iron Dome.
Iron Dome has intercepted hundreds of the new, longer-range Iranian rockets fired by Hamas, a success rate of 80 percent to 90 percent - and Iron Dome does not launch if its automated calculations show that the incoming rocket will miss populated areas. So many failed attacks could explain what appears to be the revival of a closer-to-home bus bombing in heavily populated Tel Aviv.
Critics of Iron Dome have noted that it uses a $50,000 missile against an $800 rocket. Considering the lives saved, that's a bargain.
A further criticism is that Iron Dome could lead Israel's leaders to neglect the task of persuading Hamas to make peace - an impossible task with an enemy who targets Israeli cities indiscriminately and whose airwaves are still flooded with exhortations to kill Jews.